Adrian Fontes (D) defeated Mark Finchem (R) in the general election for Arizona secretary of state on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Katie Hobbs (D) ran for governor of Arizona.

As of 2022, duties of the Arizona secretary of state included serving as the state's chief election officer and keeping the state's official records. As Arizona was one of five states that did not have a lieutenant governor position, the secretary of state also served as acting governor when the governor was out of state and was first in the gubernatorial line of succession.^[1]

Fontes served as Maricopa County Recorder from 2017 to 2021. In his response to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, Fontes highlighted his experience as county recorder, saying he had "revolutionized Arizona’s elections by registering half a million new voters, providing direct outreach to traditionally underserved communities, and making voting free, fair, and accessible to all."^[2] Fontes' campaign website also said he had "enhanced ballot tracking technology and increased process transparency[.]"^[3] His campaign website stated, "[Adrian Fontes] is committed to preserving integrity in our elections, increasing transparency in the Secretary of State’s office, making voting easier for registered voters, and ensuring that Arizona’s business community has a partner in the Secretary’s office."^[3]

Finchem was first elected to represent Arizona House of Representatives District 11 in 2014 and was re-elected three times. Finchem's campaign ads highlighted former President Donald Trump's (R) endorsement, as well as Finchem's response to the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.^[4]^[5] One ad said that "[w]hen Arizonans had concerns about their election, Mark Finchem had the courage to hold the Maricopa hearing that led to the Arizona audit" and said that Finchem had "filed legislation to set aside the irredeemably compromised elections in three counties with large margins of error."^[5] Finchem said he would "support law enforcement, clean the voter rolls for accuracy, prosecute fraud, secure [Arizona] elections, increase transparency, communicate with voters, and count all legal votes."^[6]

Fontes' campaign website said, "... Finchem will take away our right to vote, he will end vote by mail, he will overturn election results if he sees fit, and his radical agenda will threaten our economy. Mark Finchem is a member of the Oath Keepers, an extremist hate group who wants to overthrow the government. ... If elected, Finchem would, as the official who oversees the state office administering the 2024 presidential election, have the power to possibly affect the outcome of the race."^[7]

Finchem called Fontes "a lawless bad actor who has a history of criminal behavior who recklessly bungled both the 2018 and 2020 elections as the Maricopa County Recorder" and said he was "[George] Soros’ handpicked Marxist who will turn Arizona into California with open borders & rigged elections."^[8]^[9] Finchem said, "Fontes does not respect the law, is a criminal who has served time in jail and rewrote law illegally and was rebuked by many on all sides for it."^[10]

In 2018, Hobbs defeated Steve Gaynor (R) 50.4% to 49.6%. At the time of the 2022 election, Republicans held the two other top executive positions in Arizona—governor and attorney general—meaning that neither major party had a triplex in the state.

This was one of 27 elections for secretary of state taking place in 2022. Click here for an overview of these races. All but three states have a secretary of state. Although the specific duties and powers of the office vary from state to state, secretaries of state are often responsible for the maintenance of voter rolls and for administering elections. Other common responsibilities include registering businesses, maintaining state records, and certifying official documents. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican secretaries of state and 20 Democratic secretaries of state.

A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

Adrian Fontes (D) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeated Mark Finchem in the general election for Arizona Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Adrian Fontes (D)	52.4	1,320,619
	Mark Finchem (R)	47.6	1,200,411

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,521,030
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Peter Yeaple (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeated Reginald Bolding in the Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Adrian Fontes	52.5	302,681
	Reginald Bolding	47.5	273,815

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 576,496
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Dennis Florian (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Mark Finchem defeated Beau Lane, Shawnna Bolick, and Michelle Ugenti-Rita in the Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mark Finchem	42.6	329,884
	Beau Lane	23.4	181,058
	Shawnna Bolick	19.3	149,779
	Michelle Ugenti-Rita	14.8	114,391

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 775,112
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Wade Wilson (R)
Remo Paul (R)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Arizona

Election information in Arizona: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 11, 2022
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 11, 2022
Online: Oct. 11, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 28, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 28, 2022
Online: Oct. 28, 2022

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 12, 2022 to Nov. 4, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Adrian Fontes

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Maricopa County Recorder (2017-2021)

Submitted Biography: "As a former Marine, father of three daughters, an attorney, and an elections administrator – Adrian has spent his whole career fighting for justice and democracy. Inspired by his grandfather’s service in WWII and as Mayor of Nogales, AZ, Adrian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Serving his country taught him the importance of dedication, discipline, and sacrifice to fight for the American dream. After being Honorably Discharged, Adrian received his Bachelor’s degree from ASU before continuing to the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. In 2016, Adrian became the first Democrat elected to the Recorder’s office in 50 years and the first-ever Latino to hold an office in Arizona’s largest county. Once elected, Adrian revolutionized Arizona’s elections by registering half a million new voters, providing direct outreach to traditionally underserved communities, and making voting free, fair, and accessible to all. From day one, he got to work professionalizing the operation and implementing a comprehensive plan in advance of Election Day: securing polling locations, recruiting and training poll workers, and educating voters on where, when, and how to vote."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Protect Democracy

Administer Fair and Competent Elections

Make Voting More Accessible for All Eligible Arizona Voters

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Arizona Secretary of State in 2022.

Mark Finchem

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Arizona House of Representatives District 11 (Assumed office: 2015)

Biography: Finchem received an associate degree in criminal justice from Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 1986. He worked for the Kalamazoo, Michigan, department of public safety for 21 years as a fire fighter, paramedic, and public safety officer. After retiring in 1999 and moving to Arizona, Finchem worked as a senior sales manager at Intuit, a real estate broker, a personal development coach, and a vice president of Clean Power Technologies LLC. Finchem received a bachelor's degree in government administration from Grand Canyon University in 2019.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Finchem said he would "support law enforcement, clean the voter rolls for accuracy, prosecute fraud, secure [Arizona] elections, increase transparency, communicate with voters, and count all legal votes."

A campaign ad said Finchem was an "America First fighter who will stop the election fraud." Referring to the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, the ad said Finchem "had the courage to hold the Maricopa hearing that led to the Arizona audit" and "filed legislation to set aside the irredeemably compromised elections in three counties with large margins of error."

Finchem said, "When Kari Lake is governor, she will leave the state on trips to do great things. Someone will be left in charge. That will be me as the 2nd. You want a Secretary of State who will secure our borders and won't be a Marxist."

Show sources

Sources: Facebook, "Mark Finchem on September 19, 2022," accessed October 4, 2022; Facebook, "Mark Finchem on July 21, 2022," accessed October 4, 2022; Facebook, "Mark Finchem on September 20, 2022," accessed October 4, 2022; LinkedIn, "Mark Finchem," accessed October 3, 2022; Mark Finchem 2022 campaign website, "Meet Mark Finchem," accessed October 3, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Arizona Secretary of State in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/AdrianFontes.jpeg

Adrian Fontes (D)

Protect Democracy

Administer Fair and Competent Elections

Make Voting More Accessible for All Eligible Arizona Voters

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Adrian Fontes (D)

Adrian has spent his whole career fighting for justice and democracy. As former Maricopa County Recorder, Adrian is most passionate about making voting easier and more accessible for all eligible Arizona voters. At a time when anti-democratic forces are undermining the right to vote, fueling conspiracy theories, and undermining the public’s faith in our electoral process, administering elections fairly and competently at the state and local level is more critical than ever. As a United States Marine Corps veteran, Adrian is also passionate about ensuring that these democratic principles are protected for veterans and service members who have sacrificed so much to fight for the American dream of democracy. As the father of three daughters, Adrian’s passion for women’s rights issues and protections plays a large role in his life as well.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Adrian Fontes

September 16, 2022

July 1, 2022

View more ads here:

Mark Finchem

View more ads here:

Facebook

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election spending